Bird Sleep

Sleep is one thing that comes naturally to me and with ease. The best sleep is on a moving bus on a hot summer day with no seat, tightly packed. It has always amazed me, why we get a nice sleep in moving bus on a hot summer, Your head banging against the window, seat bar. And strangely no sleep in your comfy home, with a neat mattress. Indeed strange.

But how do birds manage sleep, with all predators lurking around, no bed. I had never thought about this, till i saw one duck sleeping on one of its leg, during my trip to my village. At the end find some snapshots of  the duck enjoying its sleep on a single leg, alternatively shifting it, and plummaging its beak in its feathers.

 

Worst in everyone: WorldWar 2

The Myth of the Good War: America in World War II

60 Years Ago, February 13-14, 1945: Why was Dresden Destroyed

by Jacques R. Pauwels

Global Research, February 9, 2010

In the night of February 13-14, 1945, the ancient and beautiful capital of Saxony, Dresden, was attacked three times, twice by the RAF and once by the USAAF, the United States Army Air Force, in an operation involving well over 1,000 bombers. The consequences were catastrophic, as the historical city centre was incinerated and between 25,000 and 40,000 people lost their lives.[1] Dresden was not an important industrial or military centre and therefore not a target worthy of the considerable and unusual common American and British effort involved in the raid. The city was not attacked as retribution for earlier German bombing raids on cities such as Rotterdam and Coventry, either. In revenge for the destruction of these cities, bombed ruthlessly by the Luftwaffe in 1940, Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and countless other German towns big and small had already paid dearly in 1942, 1943, and 1944. Furthermore, by the beginning of 1945, the Allied commanders knew perfectly well that even the most ferocious bombing raid would not succeed in terrorizing [the Germans] into submission,[2] so that it is not realistic to ascribe this motive to the planners of the operation. The bombing of Dresden, then, seems to have been a senseless slaughter, and looms as an even more terrible undertaking than the atomic obliteration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which is at least supposed to have led to the capitulation of Japan.

Flight Training experience

In our final semester we aerobians were supposed to get familiar with certain basic things of flight and conduct some experiments during flight. (Challo acha tha or else people used to ask us, u guys are from aero, have you guys ever flown an aircraft)

On the first day the morning session there was a lecture. In the afternoon session there was a familiarization flight nick named Joyride in a glider. The pilot cum instructor was a retired airforce experienced person. I happened to be the volunteer for the first flight.

Before the start of flight we had to sign two documents.

1) One was normal that if during flight or anything related to it we get injured or die IIT Kanpur is not responsible for it.

2) It was the second one which was a bit strange. It precisely said that in case of any injury or death, once cannot sue President of India or hold him responsible for it. What were the guys expecting, we were going to sue President of India or gherao him?

College Time memories-2

Fitting Workshop

First put on the khaki lab-coats. You definitely don't enjoy it in the Indian summer with temperatures hovering around 40 degree Celsius plus.

The lab technician gives you a job, a metal plate to be filed and a hole rectangular hole in the center. A file nobody knows of which generation is issued to help in the process.

A good hour or so is spent and finally you feel you have prepared the best piece.

The lab technician reviews it with the Try square, with a grin on its face, says " There's still some light passing from the top. Need to be further filed". You curse your luck start again.

After another hour you approach him again hoping this is the best.

Well, the technician still manages to see some light somehow through the Try Square or rather invent it.

At the scheduled end of three hours, the technician comes back and like an angel says, "Guys finish up, write your roll numbers on the job, and its over for today". Well but the job that you have created is worse than before. Doesn't matter, you have spent the required three hours on the shop, and prepare for the next ordeal in the next workshop with a new job.

Indian Media on Defence

Times of India devoted a complete page on India's recent purchases with the USA titled "Uncle SAMS: WAR-MART" this Sunday. What always amazes me, is why can't our reporters get the facts right.

Its mentioned in a graphic:

India started to buy jets from Soviet Union starting 1961. India first major deal with Britain was in 1979 for jaguar to be followed by Sea Harrier, Sea Hawks. Soon after the British the French stepped in sealing a deal for Mirage 2000 aircrafts.

The article totally neglects the fact that India operated Hunter aircrafts, one of the heroes of 1971 war, also shown in Border movie. And India operated the French Ouragon and Mystere aircrafts in the 1960s and 1950s.

Also Mystere participated in the 1965 war with distinction. And incidentally the purchase of Ouragon nicknamed toofani by IAF in the 50-60 period established India as a big purchaser in the world.

Afghanistan London meet, India's exit

The past week, on 26 Jan 2010 world leaders from a host of countries met at London to chart the future course of action on Afghanistan. Well at the event it was decided to invite the moderate form of Taliban for a lasting peace in Afghanistan.

It was an attempt by the west to hide their failure and seek a face saving exit from a quagmire for which they have no solution or strategy.

The west led by US entered in Afghanistan in 2001 after 9/11 with a stated aim of kicking out alqaida and Taliban, establishing democracy and equality. All the objectives were achieved in Kabul and some surrounding provinces, but not in the whole majority of the country. But the long war in Iraq, the world economic crisis of 2008 and the election of obama has left it with no gumption or will for fight.

Let's analyze the strategy, gains and losses of India and Pakistan.

Sputnik First mammade satellite and man's opening of a new quest

Sputnik at 50: An improvised triumph

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer Sun Sep 30, 1:01 PM ET

MOSCOW - When Sputnik took off 50 years ago, the world gazed at the heavens in awe and apprehension, watching what seemed like the unveiling of a sustained Soviet effort to conquer space and score a stunning Cold War triumph.

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But 50 years later, it emerges that the momentous launch was far from being part of a well-planned strategy to demonstrate communist superiority over the West. Instead, the first artificial satellite in space was a spur-of-the-moment gamble driven by the dream of one scientist, whose team scrounged a rocket, slapped together a satellite and persuaded a dubious Kremlin to open the space age.

And that winking light that crowds around the globe gathered to watch in the night sky? Not Sputnik at all, as it turns out, but just the second stage of its booster rocket, according to Boris Chertok, one of the founders of the Soviet space program.

In a series of interviews in recent days with The Associated Press, Chertok and other veterans told the little-known story of how Sputnik was launched, and what an unlikely achievement it turned out to be.